Spray shield for centrifugal machines



Aug. 18, 1925. 1,550,095

E. ROBERTS SPRAY SHIELD FOR CENTRIFUGAL MACHINES Filed March 26, 1923WWM 3- 7 'Qa/(MW Q U v may.

Patented Aug. 18, 1925.

UNITED STATES PATENT oF'F C EUGENE ROBERTS, OF SALT LAKE CITY, UTAH,ASSIGNOR TO THE WESTERN STATES MACHINE COMPANY, OF SALT LAKE CITY, UTAH,A CORPORATION OF UTAH.

SPRAY SHIELD FOR GENTRIFUGAL MACHINES.

Application filed March 26, 1923. Serial No. 627,811.

To all whom it may concern.-

Be it known that I EUGENE ROBERTS, a citizen of the United States, andresident of Salt Lake City, in the county of Salt Lake '5 and State ofUtah, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Spray Shieldsfor Centrifugal Machines, of which the following is a specification.

This invention relates to the centrififgal machine art as practiced insugar mills and refineries in whlch, after the liquid content hasbeencentrifugally extracted from the solid constituent, the latter whichis walled u on the interior of the perforated centrifugal basket issubjected to a washing or spraying to further cleanse the solidparticles from the adhering syrup.

As this washing or spraying operation is carried on when the machine isrevolving at high speed, it produces very strong air currents with theresult that a cloud of spray is carried up out of thebasket and wets theoperator besides wasting the entrained or dissolved syrup carried withit.\

The present invention overcomes this trouble by providing a spray shieldso constructed and arranged as to collect and divert the cloud of sprayinto the space between the basket'and its surrounding curb as the sprayissues from the inside of the basket rim. This constitutes the essentialfeature of the present improvement, and will be explained in thefollowing specification and will be definedin the claims hereto annexed.v

In the accompanying drawings I have illustrated a convenient andpractical construction embodying the principles of this invention, inwhich:

Figure 1 is a plan view showing the spray shield in operative relationto the sprayer, the centrifugal basket and its surrounding curb.

Figure 2 is a central vertical section of the parts shown in Figure 1.

Figure 3 is a bottom plan view of the spray shield detached from themachine.

Figure 4 is a vertical sectional detail on the plane indicated in dottedlines on Figure 1.

The centrifugalmachine maybe of'any usual type and as shown comprisesthe perforated basket 2, suspended from the rotary spindle 1, and havingan inwardly turned rim or top ring 3 which serves to prevent theoverflow of the solid matter at the top of the basket as it builds infrom the peripheral wall, the liquid passing through the peripheral wallitself under centrifugal action. T

The surrounding curb or casing 4, is of usual construction and issurmounted by the usual top ring 5, having an inwardly p-rov jectingledge 5. On the curb is mounted any preferred form of sprayer mechanism6, which in this case has an oscillating nozzle 7, arranged to directacolumn of fine spray across the basket against the wall of sugar on theopposite side of the center.

[The form of spray shield illustrated in the drawings comprises a curvedshield of arcuate form 10, extending substantially half way around thebasket and having a depending flange 11 at its inner edge locatedapproximately in line with the inside edge of the basket rim except thatat its intake or deflecting end. the portionll is carried inward asubstantial distance inside the line of the basket rim.

It will be understood that in the apparatus illustrated in the drawingthe basket, according to the usual practice, is rotating ina clockwisedirection so that successive points of the basket are continuallyapproaching the intake or deflector end of the spray shield and recedingfrom its opposite end. At the intake end of the spray shield .I providea trough-like member 12, the

trough-being inverted so that its open side is downward astride of theinside edge of the basket rim. The trough preferably is trumpet form,that is, converging in the direction of rotation of the basket. At itsreceiving end it extends transversely across the arcuate plate 10approximately radially of the basket so as to form a sort of invertedscoop with a curved wall arranged to deflect the air currents and thecloud of spray downward over the outside of the basket rim into thespace between the rotating basket and its surrounding curb. The outerend of the transverse portion 12 of the trough or deflector is closed bymeans of the peripheral wall at 12".

With this arrangement the wet, sticky spray, instead of spraying overthe operator and everything else near the machine, is diverted to theinside of the curb and outside of the basket thereby entirelyeliminating what has heretofore been a great nuisance 'in the operationof the machine and conserving the syrup' content that is wasted by thusescaping from the basket since such content is now collected in thebottom of the curb.

What I claim is:

1. The combination with a centrifugal basket and its surrounding curb,of a spray shield mounted upon the curb in position to overhang thebasket rim, and formed with a deflector arranged to direct the sprayissuing from inside the rim of the basket into the space between thecurb and the basket, substantially as described.

2. The combination With a centrifugal basket and its surrounding curb ofa spray shield mounted on the curb to overhang the upper edge of thebasket for a substantial arc of its circumference and provided with aspray-collecting deflector arranged above the side of the basket whichreceives the impact of the washing spray when the basket contents arebeing sprayed, said deflector being shaped to direct the spray into thespace between the basket and its curb, substantially as described.

3. A spray shield for a centrifugal basket comprising an arcuate plateconstructed to overhang the rim of such basket and provided with aninverted trough-like deflector arranged to overhang and bestride the rimedge of the basket when in operative position in order to direct thespray outwardly and downwardly around the outside of the basket rim,substantially as described.

4. A spray shield for a centrifugal basket, embracing an arcuate bodyprovided at its inner edge with an inverted trough member converging inthe direction of rotation of the basket to collect and divert the sprayto the outside of the basket when the basket contents are being sprayed,substantially as described.

5. A spray shield embracing in-its construction a plate constructed tooverhang the rim of the basket for a substantial part of itscircumference and a deflector comprising an inverted trough arranged toextend across the rim of the basket and along its inner edge in order-to collect the spray rising from the basket and divert the samedownward over the basket rim, substantially as described.

6. A spray shield for a centrifugal basket embracing a plate formed tooverhang the basket rim for a substantial part of its circumference, andhaving at its inner edge a depending flange and a trumpet shapedinverted trough portion arranged at the receiving end to collect thespray rising from the basket and direct it around the outside of the rimand basket, substantially as described.

7. The combination of 'a centrifugal basket and its surrounding curb, aspraying device mounted at one side of the curb to direct its sprayagainst the opposite wall of the basket, and a spray shield having aninverted trough-like deflector located above the position of im act ofthe spray to direct the spray rising rom the basket down around theoutside of the basket inside the curb, substantially as described.

In witness whereof, I have subscribed the above specification.

EUGENE ROBERTS.

